A Green Castle resident was awarded a $14.6 million verdict by an Adair County jury on her case against the Missouri Department of Transportation stemming from a fatal 2008 crash near Kirksville.

The decision against the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, MoDOT and employee Larry Finley was issued Friday, bringing a momentary resolution to the three-year court case.

"We're pleased with [the decision]," said Jay Benson, local attorney and local counsel on the case. "We felt it was the right verdict and that justice was served for Ann Ferguson and her family for such a tragic event."

Ferguson, for whom the case was filed in 2009 after being disabled in a rear-end collision with a MoDOT truck, suffers from a severe brain brain injury and is in custodianship and nursing care.

"The quality of life she had before this crash is totally gone," Benson said.

The crash also claimed the life of 10-year-old Allison Pfeiffer, also of Green Castle, and sent another passenger, 8-year-old Shane Ferguson, to the hospital with moderate injuries.

Ann Ferguson was represented by Columbia attorney A.W. Smith.

According to a 2008 Daily Express article, MoDOT trucks were in the area leading up the crash, conducting debris clean up from recent flood waters.

Benson said Ferguson was partially responsible for the accident, given she rear-ended a truck which was carrying a 25-foot log, but due to negligence on the fault of Finley and MoDOT, her injuries were significantly more severe than they would have been.

"The reason is the MoDOT truck had its tailgate down and had a 25-foot log in a 16-foot bed," Benson said. "[If it weren't for those things] we had persuasive evidence she would have had negligible or no injuries."

Benson said the dollar amount is notable, especially given it was handed down in a rural venue given that smaller circuit courts rarely see cases of this magnitude and the more conservative nature of rural juries.

MoDOT's legal representative could not be reached for comment.

It was not immediately known if MoDOT is planning on appealing the decision, although Benson said he would not be surprised given the large amount of the decision.

The jury reportedly attributed 25 percent of the accident's fault to Ferguson, which will reduce the award amount.